Press Releases

The Cathedral Center's Community Outreach Helps Families to Avoid a Shelter Stay

May 4, 2010

Milwaukee, WI – The Cathedral Center's staff of professional and caring case managers work with community families in an effort to help stabilize their housing crises so they can avoid a shelter stay. Often times, this includes making their temporary stay with a family member or friend, less of an inconvenience.

Food boxes from "Feeding America" are a welcome service for our community families as well as supplies of personal hygiene needs. This type of assistance makes it easier for host families to continue to accommodate guests who are experiencing housing issues.

To supplement these Food Boxes for community families, we will accept donations of nonperishable food items:

General

• Re-usable "green" grocery bags
• $10 grocery gift cards

Fruit, Juice & Staples

• Fruit/Juice: Canned pears, apricots, pineapple or peaches
• Protein: Canned meat, poultry, fish, peanut butter, beans, nuts and high-protein main dishes such as chili/stew
• Vegetables: Canned corn, green beans, carrots, peas

Meals

• Breakfast: Dry cereal, oatmeal, grits and pancake mixes
• Lunch: Canned or dry soups (vegetable, beef or chicken) and canned pasta items
• Dinner: Pastas and rice (plain or mixes), potato mixes, macaroni and cheese dinners

Baby Items

• Powered or concentrated infant formula, food and diapers

Cathedral Center staff works with roughly 25-30 community families. Working with community families becomes more critical as recent trends show a dramatic increase in the amount of time families spend in emergency shelter until appropriate housing is found. In 2009, families spent an average of 3-4 months in emergency shelter compared to 3-4 weeks in 2008. This trend is directly related to vital resources being unavailable to low-income women and families: life supporting income and safe and affordable housing.

About The Cathedral Center

In 2010, The Cathedral Center provided critical services to 934 individuals; 549 individual women and 112 families with 273 children in its emergency shelter alone. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, women and families make up the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.

Work. Home. Spirit. Transformation.

The mission of The Cathedral Center, Inc. is to provide a safe environment for women and families while working to end homelessness, one life at a time. Dedicated to helping the most vulnerable in our community, The Cathedral Center's staff members are experts on issues relating to homelessness including but not limited to poverty, joblessness and mental illness.

Contact

Janet Peshek
Director of Resource Development
The Cathedral Center
414-831-0394, ext. 2127
414-831-0439 (Fax)

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